(iv) At the conclusion of the fire-direction practices, all fire-unit commanders should be familiar with the effects of winds and temperature in shooting at 500, 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 yards. The range tables should be studied, and lectures given on the influence of ground, ranging errors, and other details of fire direction.
(v) Concentration and Distribution of Fire.—Fire-direction practices will afford opportunities for training fire-unit commanders in the concentration and distribution of fire (see Sec. 44, paras. 8 and 9). Fire should generally be concentrated against very vulnerable targets, or when it is required to produce great effect at a particular point; it should be distributed when it is required to disturb the enemy’s aim along a portion of his front in order to assist movement.
(vi) For example, a company commander wants to produce great effect at a particular point, so he concentrates the whole of his fire on it; or he wishes to strike the enemy’s line in two, four, or eight places, and orders: By platoons, or By sections, when the commanders of these units each select an aiming-mark for their unit in the enemy’s front corresponding to the position of their own unit in the company. Should the company commander wish each man to select his own aiming-mark in the enemy’s line corresponding to his own position in the company, he orders: Distribute fire.
(vii) The chief guides in deciding on the amount of distribution to be employed will be the visibility of the aiming-marks, the volume of fire available, and the range. In the absence of clear aiming-marks service targets usually consist of large scattered groups, which require a greater volume for assurance of fire effect. The greatest distribution of fire occurs when each man selects his own aiming-mark. Such distribution will not as a rule be employed beyond 600 yards, owing to the difficulty at longer ranges of finding sufficient aiming-marks.
4. Collective Field Practices.—(i) Collective field practices are primarily intended to afford the commanders of fire units practice in their duties of direction and control of fire. With this must be combined the study of the results to be obtained from the delivery of fire at targets representing troops in different formations, on ground of varying character, in order that practical experience may be acquired of the principles which govern the employment of fire in the field. Any omission or neglect in fire direction, as well as any failure to adjust the sights, should, at this stage of training, be regarded very seriously.
(ii) Progression of Training.—Training in collective field practices will be carried out on the following stages: (a) On the Solano Target, or landscape targets, without firing; (b) on the miniature, or 30 yards range with the Solano Target, or landscape targets; (c) on the open range.
(iii) Points for Criticism.—The principal points to be considered in collective field practices are:
(a) The choice of targets.
(b) The justification or necessity for opening fire.
(c) The volume of fire required to effect the object in view.